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Rat bit snake really bad

My son has a small ball python (about 2 years old) and a larger (about 5 years old). I did the wrong thing and left the older ball's rat in over night 'cause he was slow to feed. We woke up the next morning and have found several large bites on the small ball's body. These are LARGE bitten areas (about the size of a nickel in about 3 places).

I know I made a mistake, but what now? How do I treat the wounds and what should I consider?

Rat bit snake really bad

Yea, they always eat really quick. I get a small rat for the small snake and a medium for the larger snake. The larger snake usually pounces on his as soon as it hits the bottom of the tank, so I've never really had to seperate them while eating. The small snakes is a bit slower to be aggressive towards food, so I usually just dangle the rat in front of him with some tongs and he takes it. The other night I dropped the rat in and went about my business, assuming the bigger snake would just grab the rat within a few minutes. I forgot about it overnight and woke up to find the small snake curled in a ball and the rat chewing as he pleases. I did learn the hard way. The smaller rat used to always eat frozen, but I started picking up live when I got the bigger snake's live mouse...I'm gonna switch back to frozen of course. I got Betadine Iodine and Neosporin and have been cleansing/applying the wounds everyday. What should I look for to see if he's healing okay or not?

Rat bit snake really bad

yeah i had a rescue that was chewed on pretty bad. It really seems to effect there personality, like this one would be really shy, it would coil up and not move much at all. Like it was really depressed. But now, about a year later, its doing fine, and its actually a friendly snake. To heal better, just keep reapplying the neosporin and be more carefull about feeding live. Live feeding is the only way i do it, just personal preference for me. I make it a habit to stay and watch them until they have at least started to squeeze the rabbits. then again, Its been a while since i had a small snake, so it might be because im feeding rabbits now for the most part. They are a lot less likely to chew. hope it gets better for you.

Re:Rat bit snake really bad

Some information for further cases of bites. I also highly recommend a vets opinion. Something most people don't know is that rats and mice have a dry bite meaning no saliva. If infection sets in it is due to bedding, cleanlyness of cage and water dish that makes it happen. If bedding gets in the wound and it is clean or dirty it will cause infection. If your snake soaks in its water dish and it may need a cleaning then there is more of a chance for infection. Infections are post bite. I should say not from the bite directly. As far as f/t or live go thats based on opinion. I feed both. Something to keep in mind for live feeders is that you need to monitor the feeding directly, NEVER leave them unattended. Lesson learned here. I do not "baby" the snake but I do watch the killing portion. Everyone has a right to their opinion on this topic and I respect your choices. This is just my opinion.